Our trailers include the required sliding t-bolts hardware that will attach to our cradles. (cradles are all pre-drilled)

The reason a cradle is better than just a crossbar is that it supports the weight and spreads that load evenly across the entire hull bottom...resting directly on a flat crossbar would point load and dent your hull bottom. You could just flip the boat over and tie it down that way, but you lose the simplicity at that point. For the PA it has the seat and rails that would interfere with being turned up-side-down, and the Island and Tandem Island - you would need to remove the amas and akas. The system that we offer works awesome, and the feedback from users has been great. We have been selling these trailers for a few years now, and have had zero problems.Can you find a cheaper alternative? Yes, surely one could, but would it be lightweight aluminum and never rust? Probably not.